Historically, the position of tailback has been one of the most successful and productive for the North Carolina football program.

Throughout the Bill Dooley, Dick Crum, and Mack Brown years, the Tar Heels seemed to find a back capable of rushing for 1,000 yards almost every season.

From 1969, when Don McCauley became the first UNC tailback in history to reach the 1,000-yard mark, to 1997, when Jonathan Linton surpassed the barrier during his final home game in Kenan Stadium, North Carolina's offense produced 24 individual seasons of 1,000 or more rushing yards at tailback, which trails only Nebraska for the most such seasons in the history of college football.

Linton was the last UNC tailback to surpass the 1,000-yard mark, and as the team heads into the 2006 season, the Tar Heel coaches are hopeful that senior Ronnie McGill will be able to break the program's nine-year drought.